So...I leave this morning at about 10:45am to go to work and walk out the door and just stare at the blank fence to my right. wait...wait. I did ride my bike home last night, right? I have to ponder for a moment. Yes, yes I did. But it's not there. I stop staring blankly and look closer to note that the fence has been broken. Some asshat stole my bike. It's gone. No. Bike. I stare a little longer. Um. Um?
Son. Of. A. Fuck. Ing. Bitch.
Siiiiighhhhh....
Nothing to do but check to see if I have change for the bus. I do.
I walk towards the bus stop, wondering what the hell I did wrong...did I talk too much shit about my bike? Did I harm someone in a way I shouldn't have? And since when was I such a firm believer in "karma" (in quotes coz the original meaning of karma is not at all as westerners conceive of it), since when have I thought there was some sort of deserved-ness to the random violence and theft and other injustices in people's lifes? Sigh... (again)
Shit.
Well. I have to have a bike. I'm so fucking immobile without wheels. Walking sucks. Buses suck. They're far better than not being able to use those two, but I. love. to. bike (!). I call Tom who agrees to help me take the bike Ponge doesn't want to the Hub where I can trade it in and get another bike. After work.
We go to the Hub and I discover that I hate all of their used bikes. I start looking at the new ones. The ones that are four times what I thought I was going to be spending. I try out two of them after discussing a few. Tom and I eat sushi while waiting for one of them to be built with a 17" frame. Since the other one was too small.
Tom is very patient through all the boring-ness that goes along with watching someone else shop. Kudos to Tom.
I test drive the final two once again. I stressfully settle on the more expensive...the Marin Novato. I am sort of totally weirded out. I have literally been riding the same bike (with some repairs and part replacements, obviously) for the past 15 years. Will I really like this bike? Is it a mistake? Am I getting my money's worth? Why don't I know more shit about bikes?
But as I meet my friends ( India/baby Josh and Mary, who are excellent to see again) and we bike around the city heading up various locales of interest, I really start to feel the bike. It is fucking amazing. It is like butter. I love, love, love this bike. I want to bike everywhere.
So. My bike got stolen, which blows. But it forced me to finally buy another bike, and this bike is golden. So all in all, maybe it's okay.
And it's light enough that it isn't much of a deal to put the bike in my apartment every night.
I love this new bike.
..purrrrr....